teske



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

O. TESKE.

WATCH CASE SPRING.

No. 388,157. Patented Aug. 21, 1888.

M I .9 I III ml m (3 I 9 MU N PUERS. Mwwzpber, Walhngtw. D. Q

4 SheetsShee.t 2.

(No Model.)

0. TESKE.

WATCH CASE SPRING.

No. 388,157. Patented Aug. 21, 1888.

//7 z/eafa/z aim M u. PETERS. mo-Lmw n w. Wuhinglon. 0.0,

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

O. TESKE.

WATCH CASE SPRING.

No. 388,157. Patented Aug. 21, 1888.

VII

4 SheetsSheet 4.

(No Model.)

0. TESKE.

WATCH CASE SPRING.

No. 388,157. Patented Aug. 21, 1888.

M. mills, \llziunpm n.c.

, U NITED STATES PATENT Orricni WATCH-CASE SPRiNG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters 3? Application filed October 6,1881. Serial No. 251.6!2.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, CHARLES TESKE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hartford, in the county of Hart-ford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SpringCatches for .Vatch- Cases, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to spring-catches for watch cases; and the mainobjects of my invention are durability and general efficiency inoperation and simplicity of construction.

In the accompaning drawings, Figure l is a plan View of my catch andattached dust-rim as applied to a watch-case, the latter being I mainlyin section. Fig. 2 (which, as well as all the following figures, exceptFigs. 45 and 46,is on an enlarged scale) is a front elevation of mycatch, the push -pin being shown in transverse section. Fig. 3 is atransverse section of the supporting-rim for my catch, the plane ofsection being near one end of said rim. Fig. t represents in detachedplan views the catch, the springs, and the supportingrim, together withthe ends of the dustband secured thereto. Figs. 5 to 47 representvarious modifications of my improvements, which figures will be moreparticularly referred to in describing each modification.

A designates the watclpcase provided with the ordinary windingstem,which also serves as the pnshpi n a. My improvement, however, is not tobe confined to stenrwiuding watches, as any push-pin that will move thecatch inwardly to disengage it is for the purposes of my invention thefull equivalent of the pushpin a. In this connection it should benoticed that the puslrpin need not be located within the stem of thering orbow, but may be attached directly to the catch and projectthrough the case at one side of the stem, as shown in Fig. 43. g

The engaging end of the catch B is substair tially of ordinary form,while its body portion is provided with laterally-extending arms I) b.The body of the catch and its arms I) b are fitted to notches andrecesses in the supportingrim 0, to which rim I prefer to secure thedust-band c by attaching its ends to the respective ends of the rim 0.While the dust band makes the device more complete, it is evident thatmy supportingri m and catch may stem: No, 388,157, dated August 21,1888.

: model.) i

be used without the dnstband. The support ing-rim is intended to bereceived in the usual space within the edge of the case and firmlysecured to the ease in the position shown in Fig. 1, the dust-bandcovering and closing that portion of the space that is not closed by thesupporting-rim. The shape in cross-section or end view of thesupporting-rim is shown in Fig. 3, from which it will be seen that theupper and lower flanges of the rim form a longitudinal recess that isopen at the outer edge of said rim.

lose the terms upper and lower with reference to the positionillustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. The middle portion of the upper flange iscut away or notched, as at c, Fig. 4, to permit the body of the catch tobe received therein, while the arms I) I, on each side of the catch liewithin the recess in the supporting rim. \Vithin this recess I alsosecure a suitable spriug or springs-ms, for instance, the springs dd-secured by screws to the rim 0, with their ends pressing outwardlyagainst the arms bl) of the catch. The push-pin a is arranged to pressagainst the catch,so that pushing inwardly on said pin will move thecatch inwardly against its springs and release said catch from the lidof the case, (the catch may be applied to either the front or back lid,)and when the push-pin is released the catch will be returned to itsnormal position by means of the springs. In closing the case the lidstrikes the bevel of the catclnand causes it to slideinwardly. Meanwhilethe arms and base of the catclnresti ng upon thelower llangeof thesupportingrim, furnish a firm support for the catch and prevent it frommoving in the same direction as the contacting edge of the lid which ispressed upon it, and therefore it cannotmove away from said lid exceptby sliding inwardly. As soon as the projection on the lid has passed bythe lip on the catch, the lat ter snaps into place under the influenceof its springs. By this construction, which thus holds the catch closelyagainst the lid, the lid can be titted to shut very tight and close andyet have the catch properly engage therewith.

While I prefer the COllStIllClilOll illustrated in Figs. 1, to4,inclusive,a1:id will base my most limited or specific claims thereomitis evident that some features of my invention have a broader applicationand that some of the advantages of my improvement may be reaped frommodified constructions, some of which are as follows:

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 show one modification, in which Ipreferably attach thesame dust-band c in the same way, the supporting-rim O and catch B beingshown separately in Fig. 5. The rim is of H form in cross'section, asshown in Fig. 6,thereby forming recessesin the top and bottom. It isnotchedin the middle to receive the body of the catch, and the arms I;I) rest and play in the upper recess and are pressed upon by springswhich are the same as those first described and act in the same way. Inorder to hold the catch from working upwardly I secure to its under sidethe plate f, Fig. 7, which rests in the under recess or groove of thesupporting-rim. In this Fig. 7 the supporting-rim O is illustrated in acentral longitudinal section and the push-pin a in transverse section.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate the supporting-rim O as made with only oneflange forming the recesss in the form of a rabbet, as shown by thetransverse section, Fig. 9. The catch B and rim 0 are shown detached inFig. 8, the middle portion of the rim being notched to receive the bodyof the catch B, as before described, the same springs (Z (I beingattached to press upon the arms I) b of the catch, as before described.The arms I; I) rest upon the bottom flange of the supporting-rim andsupport the catch against moving with the lid; but the upper side of thearms will rest directly against the case on that side of the rim.

Another modification is shown in Figs. 10

and 11, which is the same as the construction first described, exceptthat instead of the arms b b to hold the catch within the supportingrimit is held by guide-pins y g, which enter corresponding holes in thecatch B. Fig. 10 shows the rim and catch detached, the position of theholes in the catch for the pins be ing indicated by broken lines; andFig. ll'is a transverse section of the supporting-rim 0.

Another modification is shown in Figs. 12, 13, and 14, inwhich thesupporting-rim is recessed at the bottom, as shown by the transversesection, Fig. 13, and the catch B is supported therein so as to slideout and in on the pins h h, which extend through corresponding holes inthe body of the catch, as shown most clearly in the transverse section,Fig. 14, one of said pins being shown in elevation in said figure. Fig.12 shows the catch and supporting-rim detached. Springs like springs (Z(Z are designed to be secured within the recess of the rim with theirfree ends pressing against the back of the catch at each end.

Fig. 15 illustrates another modification, the rim 0, spring j, and catchB being shown sepa rately. The supporting-rim is provided withprojections k, which enter corresponding holes in the arms I) b of thecatch B, said holes being indicated by broken lines. A spring, 3',liesbetween these projections and presses against the back of the catchB. It is prevented from working out of place by two pins, Z Z, whichextend through holes in the spring, the body of the catch being alsoprovided with holes to register with the pins Z Z.

The modification, Figs. 16 and 17, is practically nothing but aninversion of the parts shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the recess being on theinside instead of the outside of the supporting-rim, a section of therim being shown in Fig. 17 and the parts being separately shown in Fig.16. i

Figs. 18 and 19 show a modification in which the supporting-rim O has asingle flange, m. notched at the middle to receive the body of the catchB,while the arms?) I) of the catch are recessed to fit said groove,asshown by the re spective sectional views through said rim and one arm ofthe catch in Fig. 19. The springs d cl, as before described,bear againstsaid arms. Pins or projections g g, with corresponding holes in thecatch, may be employed, ifdesired;

but the arms b b, recessed as described, and resting on the flange on,will furnish a proper support for the catch without these pins.

In the modification, Figs. 20 and 21,the supporting-rim is grooved orrecessed at the top, as shown by the section, Fig. 21. The rim and catchare shown separately in Fig. 20. The arms I) I) rest in the groove andare acted on by the springs d d, as before described, and the uppersides of the arms rest against the case to hold the catch in, as in theconstruction shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

In the modification, Figs. 22 and 23,the supporting-rim is recessed onthe inner edge, as shown by the section, Fig. 23, similar to themodifieation Figs. 16 and 17; Instead, however, of the arms I) b,1provide the catch with pins gg,which are guided by holes in the rim, orvice versa, and the springs cl press upon the back of the catch at eachend. The catch and supporting-rim are shown detached in Fig. 22.

The modification shown in Figs. 24 and 25, plan and front views,respectively, consists merely in widening or elongating the catch B, sothat it has two holdinglips instead of one to catch upon the inside ofthe lid. Such a catch may be mounted in accordance with any of themodifications herein described, in which the arms b I) rest within arecess in the rim. The catches in the other modifications may also beprovided with two holding-lipsinlike manner.

The modification shown in Figs. 26 and 27 is similar to that shown inFigs. 18 and 19; but instead of the arms sliding on the flange m thebody of the catch is recessed on its back to fit said flange, as mostclearly shown by the sectional view, Fig. 26,which shows the support ingrim and catch detached, the plane of sec tion being transversely throughthe middle of said parts. The springs can be attached as in Fig. 18, butmade long enough to bear upon the body of the catch.

Figs. 28 and 29 are corresponding views ICC IIO

showing, practically, the same thing, but reversed, so that the flange mis on the inside of the rim 0 instead of the outside.

In the modification, Figs. 30 and 31, the rim is made of two partssecured together by screws or rivets, the inner part having a groove forthe springs, as shown by the transverse section, Fig. 30. The detachedplan views of the rim 0 and catch B in Fig. 31 show the slot or hole inthe middle of the rim for the body of the catch to work in, and theguide-pins gg, secured rigidly to the catch and moving in holes throughthe rim, or vice versa.

In the modification, Figs. 32 and 33, I also form the supporting-rim Oof two parts, but with both of them grooved, as shown by the transversesection, Fig. 33, in which the division is vertical. Fig. 34 shows alike view of the same kind of a rim, but divided horizontally instead ofvertically. In such a rim the internal space is larger than in Fig. 30,so that there is room for the arms I) Z) of the catch and also for thespring j. The parts detached are shown in plan view in Fig. 82.

Another modification is shown in Figs. 35 and 36, the former showing thesupportingrim and two parts of the catch in reverse plan, and the lattershowing a transverse section on line x .r of Fig. 35 of said rim when ina corresponding position. lhe rim is recessed or grooved on its underside, the solid top being cutout, as indicated by broken lines at themiddle of the rim 0, Fig. 35, to admit the body of the catch. Instead ofmaking the arms I) I) integral with the body of the catch I form them ofseparate pieces and fasten them together by screws through the holes a.The under side of the latch and inner ends of the springs (Z (Z arecovered and supported by the plate 0.

In Figs. 37 to 42, inclusive, I support the catch 13 on a stud, q,either on the rim, as in Figs. 37, 38, 39, and 40, or on the catchitself, as in Figs. 41 and 42, and corresponding holes in the catch orrim. I have shown these studs and their holes as square; but they may beof any other form, preferably angular or oblong. Such modifications maybe made with rims recessed in different styles; but I have illustratedit as applied to rims in cross-section substantially like Fig. 3. Fig.37 shows a detached front elevation of the catch B; Figs. 88 and 40,plan views of the rim with springs attached; Fig. 39, a rear elevationof the catch, middle portion of the rim, and attached springs; and Figs.41 and 42 show plan views of the rim and catch detached from each other.

Fig. 43 shows the same construction as in Fig. 1, excepting that thesupporting-rim and catch occupy a different position in the case, andthat the push-pin a is rigidly connected with or formed on the catch 13.This arrangement is more especially adapted for the lid at the back ofthe watch case.

The modifications in Figs. 44:, 45, and 46 show catches which swinginwardly on apivot instead of sliding bodily. In all of them thesupporting-rim G is of the form in cross-section shown in Fig. 3, and isrepresented as partly or wholly in horizontal section, with the catchesin plan view. In all of them the catch rests upon and is supported bythe lower flange of the rim 0, as is the construction first described.

In Fig. 44 the push-pin a acts upon one end of an intermediate lever s,the other end of which acts on the short end of the catch,there byforcing its longer end having the holding lip inwardly against thespring (Z.

In Fig. 45 the catch is in the form of a simple lever with the push-pinpressed directly against the body of the catch.

In Fig. 46 the push-pin acts against the intermcdiate levers, s, thesame as in Fig.44,excepting that there are two levers and two catches.

Fig. 47 shows a plan and front view, respect ively, of a catch adaptedfor use with a rim like that shown in transverse section in Fig. 19, theflange at being notched in the middle to receive the body of the catch,while the notched arms I) Z) rest in the rabbets or recesses above andbelow said flange. Springs will be applied as before described. Such acatch is applicable to a rim having the flange at either on the outsideor inside edge.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of the supporting-rim O,recessed substantially as described, the catch having arms I) b restingin the recess of said rim, and the spring or springs for pressingagainst the catch, suhstantiall y as described, and for the purposespecified.

2. The combination of a watch-case, the sup porting-rim, thespringpressed catch mounted therein, and the dust-band secured to the respective ends of said rim, substantially as de scribed, and for thepurpose specified.

3. The combination of the supportingrim stationarily affixed in awatch-case, the catch moving inwardly and outwardly and supported insaid movement by said rim, and the spring or springs for pressingagainst said catcli,sub stantially as described, and for the purposespecified.

4. The combination of the supporting-rim having lateral flanges forminga groove or recess at the outer edge of said rim, the catch having itsbody working in a notch in the upper flange of said rim, and the arms 01), working within the groove on each side of said notch, substantiallyas described, and for the purpose specified.

CH ARLES TESKE.

Witnesses:

Janus SHEPARD, J OHN Enwiinns, Jr.

